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Threshers discount offer gets out of control

A discount voucher intended only for Threshers' suppliers and their friends and family has been downloaded by millions of people, unintentionally proving the power of viral marketing.

The voucher is valid until December 10, and offers a very generous 40% off all wine and champagne at Threshers’ 2,000 UK stores, including Wine Rack, Bottoms Up, Haddows and The Local chains.

It was reported in The Observer yesterday that other high street stores, including Selfridges, Gap and Oasis, have been emailing discount vouchers to attract customers, offering in-store discounts of up to 40%.

Retail observers believe that the number of coupons being distributed in the run up to Xmas this year is unprecedented.

Threshers' offer was different, as it was intended only to be passed on to a few friends of the recipients. However, once it got onto the web, it took on a life of its own.

One of Threshers' suppliers, South African wine company Stormhoek, said the voucher had been downloaded over 800,000 times from its site.

A spokesman for Threshers told The Times that, though the company had no idea how many vouchers had been downloaded, it was Google’s top hit on Friday.

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